Games › Sandbox › Sandbox + Fishing
Should I ship a Fishing Sandbox?
Sandbox + Fishing
Of 77 developers who shipped a Fishing Sandbox in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 170 more are announced, ×3.8 for every developer who shipped in the last year.
Verdict: poor odds, for a 6 / 10 build.
The middle developer here made $9.6k, ×15 the market's $630 for a 6 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $1.4k; 1 in 20 cleared $2.0M, ×3311 the market median. Revenue is down 85% on the market; 170 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year.
| Bottom 30% | $1.3k (exactly $1,347) |
|---|---|
| Median | $9.6k (exactly $9,590) |
| Top 25% | $105k (exactly $105,345) |
| Top 5% | $2.1M (exactly $2,079,097) |
| Developers, 2 yr | 77 |
| Released games | 162 |
| Announced | 170 |
| Effort | 6 / 10 |
| AI-buildability | Medium |
| Typical price | $9.99 |
momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 85% on the market, supply 40% more developers than the period before.
Free games: 8%, excluded from money figures.
Can AI deliver it?
AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.
What it takes
- Effort
- 6 / 10 · full 3D single-player, physics sims, content-heavy RPG
- Systems
- Sandbox, Fishing; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Simulation, Life Sim, Building
- Price point
- $9.99 typical · top 25% priced $24.99 or above
- Art
- 4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with Relaxing, 3D, Cute
Why players buy here
The top 25% priced at $24.99 or above; the middle game at $9.99.
The top 10 games average 94% positive over 100,334 reviews.
What kills games here
3 in 10 developers made under $1.4k. 5 in 10 of the 37 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 170 games are announced against 45 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.8 per shipper.
Adjacent niches
Sandbox with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.
- + FightingStrong odds
- + Turn-BasedFair
- + World War IIFair
- + MinigamesFair
- + ProgrammingFair
- + CatsFair
- + SportsFair
- + GamblingFair
- + Auto BattlerFair
- + Combat RacingFair
- + Trading Card GameFair
- + IdlerFair
Comparable games
| Capsule | Game | Released | Price | Reviews | Est. copies | Est. revenue | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| | Stardew Valley | older | $14.99 | 894,201 98% | 27M | $402M (exactly $402,122,190) | ConcernedApe |
| | Disney Dreamlight Valley | older | $39.99 | 22,027 92% | 661k | $26M (exactly $26,425,792) | Gameloft |
| | Coral Island | older | $29.99 | 21,828 89% | 655k | $20M (exactly $19,638,652) | Stairway Games |
| | Dinkum | $19.99 | 24,641 92% | 739k | $15M (exactly $14,777,208) | James Bendon | |
| | Feed and Grow: Fish | · EA older | $14.99 | 20,750 78% | 623k | $9.3M (exactly $9,331,275) | Old B1ood |
| | WEBFISHING | $4.99 | 57,353 97% | 1.7M | $8.6M (exactly $8,585,744) | lamedeveloper | |
| | DYSMANTLE | older | $19.99 | 11,022 91% | 331k | $6.6M (exactly $6,609,893) | 10tons Ltd |
| | Ultimate Fishing Simulator® | older | $19.99 | 8,256 89% | 248k | $5.0M (exactly $4,951,123) | Ultimate Games S.A., Bit Golem |
| | Farm Together 2 | $25.99 | 4,456 93% | 134k | $3.5M (exactly $3,474,343) | Milkstone Studios | |
| | CryoFall | older | $19.99 | 4,905 78% | 147k | $2.9M (exactly $2,941,528) | AtomicTorch Studio |
| | Go-Go Town! | $27.99 | 2,476 93% | 74k | $2.1M (exactly $2,079,097) | Prideful Sloth | |
| | Mirthwood | $24.99 | 2,242 69% | 67k | $1.7M (exactly $1,680,827) | Bad Ridge Games | |
| | Grimshire | · EA | $14.99 | 3,243 97% | 97k | $1.5M (exactly $1,458,377) | Acute Owl Studio |
| | Salt 2: Shores of Gold | $19.99 | 2,182 85% | 65k | $1.3M (exactly $1,308,545) | Lavaboots Studios | |
| | Farmer's Dynasty 2 | · EA | $24.99 | 1,225 72% | 37k | $918k (exactly $918,382) | UMEO Studios |
| | Farlands | $17.99 | 1,628 89% | 49k | $879k (exactly $878,632) | JanduSoft, Eric Rodríguez | |
| | Snacko | $24.99 | 888 95% | 27k | $666k (exactly $665,734) | Bluecurse Studios |
Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.
Five niches a week, one death, one deep dive.
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